


when doves cry

by dustysadderdaze



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Author Is Not Religious, Blood and Injury, Fallen Angels, Gen, Religious Imagery & Symbolism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:46:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28512876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dustysadderdaze/pseuds/dustysadderdaze
Summary: Ten just got one more reason to rebel.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	when doves cry

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this fic is long overdue, but probably rushed. This is the prequel to You Get Me Closer to God, enjoy! Mind the tags, please! Happy New Year !

Angels wept the day Ten fell. Darkness fell over the kingdom when those beautiful, magnificent wings were sheared off. Ten couldn't even meet his ex-best friends’ eyes- he knew Taeyong simply looked at him in disgust. He hung his head, trying to ignore the blood rolling down his back in rivulets. He was disgraced. An outcast. A pariah. All because he told God, you know what, maybe he shouldn’t be the only one getting free will. He was tired of being caged, he was tired of following the ridiculous rules. He was defeated, with no mercy.

"You're not welcome here." Taeyong finally spoke, voice colder than ice.

And Ten wept.

Years and years later, Ten was in the middle of pouring himself a drink when disaster hit. His club was closed to the public, only VIP guests allowed, but he was up in his penthouse, sharing a drink with his dear friend(and fellow demon) Sicheng. All Ten heard was the sound of glass shattering and he was immediately on his feet, rushing towards the noise. It’d come from his bedroom. Shards everywhere, he carefully made his way over to the window- and stopped dead in his tracks. An old friend he hadn’t seen in many, many years. Crumbled on his floor. Wounds covering his arms but nothing nearly as horrific as what his back looked like. Drenched in blood, open gashes from where his wings should have been.

"oh, Xuxi...." Ten's voice cracked. It wasn't often that he showed actual remorse but his pain was laid bare as he rested his hand on Yukhei's arm.

He knew exactly what he was going through. He'd gotten his wings ripped out long ago, too. His back was covered in feathers drenched in blood. Sicheng was on standby with bandages- there wasn't much they could do, especially since he no longer had his angelic healing.

Ten gently pulled Yukhei's chin up, speaking in the softest voice possible, "you're safe now, I promise." 

His skin was still as pale as marble but he nodded slowly, averting his eyes. Maybe he still wasn't used to seeing Ten- it'd been a while since he'd been labeled as an outcast and thrown out. He didn't blame him for not being able to look at him properly. The day he fell had been filled with blood, horror, warfare, and everything that comes with it.

All because Ten wanted free will.

"I need you to take some very, very deep breaths for me. This is going to sting." Ten told him, cradling his face for a moment. “Can you do that for me?” he asked softly, waiting for Yukhei to nod in response.

Sicheng had quietly let himself into Ten's bedroom, avoiding the few empty wine bottles left in his path, and sat behind Yukhei, medical kit in hand.

"And if you need to, you can squeeze me. As hard as you'd like," Ten chucked when he saw the alarm scribbled all over his face. "Don't worry, you won't bruise me." There was mirth twinkling in his eyes.

It wasn't pretty. It wasn't easy. Ten had to physically restrain Yukhei with handcuffs so he didn't jerk away from Sicheng's nimble fingers trying to work the needle. He didn’t like it one bit, he didn’t like seeing Yukhei in pain. But within twenty minutes, he was all stitched up and cleaned up- Ten had kicked Sicheng out and gently washed Yukhei's bruised and bloodied back, trying his best to not agitate what would be scars in a matter of time. Yes, he had a soft spot for the kid. Maybe it was because he knew he had sided with him, maybe not. It didn’t matter that Yukhei hadn’t gone into battle with him, he would take him under his wing- no pun intended. But he knew he would protect him.

Ten had pulled him into his bed after getting one of the guest rooms ready for himself. "How're you feeling?" He'd be surprised if the answer wasn't "numb."

Yukhei was slow to answer- probably because of the painkillers he'd taken for the searing pain. "Kinda out of it. My body feels kinda floaty,"

The other nodded, enjoying the gentle breeze wafting in through the open balcony doors. His wine glass was still sitting on the railing, oops.

"Xuxi," Ten murmured, still stroking his platinum blonde hair. 

"Mm?"

He hesitated for a spare moment, hand stilling. The question had to be asked. "Who did this to you?"

Moments passed in tense silence before Yukhei answered, nearly inaudible, "Qian Kun." 

Ten’s blood was absolutely boiling. He hadn’t seen that pompous, self-righteous idiot in many years- the last time he saw him, Kun had a blade pointed to Ten’s throat, fire burning in his once gentle eyes. But he knew exactly what he was like. What all the angels were like. They weren’t the benign, forgiving, sovereign creatures they were made out to be. No. They were cold. Cruel. Calculating. Thought everything not a celestial being was beneath their feet. Kun was THE archangel. The one that had lead the angels into battle against Ten and the ones that had sided with them.

He knew what he had to do. 

He let himself into Sicheng’s room quietly, turning off the speaker as he went. Sicheng looked up from his book curiously, setting it down on his bedside table. “Is the kid doing okay? He didn’t rip his stitches out, did he?” he grimaced.

Ten just shook his head, climbing into his bed and laying his head in his lap. “No, he’s fine… and he’s not a kid, Sicheng,” he could barely manage a smile.

“Something’s bothering you, Ten. I know you.” Sicheng sighed, brushing Ten’s hair back away from his face.

He was silent for a few minutes. He knew his best friend would follow him to hell and back for him, but this… even though he knew Sicheng would object, it was something he needed to do. “I’m going to ruin Qian Kun,”

Sicheng’s hand stilled and he peered down at him. Nothing really surprised him anymore, but that definitely took him off guard. 

“You’re going to force him to fall, aren’t you?” he whispered, barely audible.

A rather Cheshire grin spread across his face. “No, there will be no force about it,” he said sweetly. “He’ll fall on his own.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! You can find me on twitter by the @ cupidtennie, come say hi!


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